The present invention relates in general to manufacturing environments, and in particular, to manufacturing cells for the fabrication, manufacture, processing, assembly and/or subassembly of parts, part assemblies and/or products. The present invention further relates to systems and methods of configuring and utilizing such manufacturing cells.
Modern manufacturing environments, especially those that support multiple, diverse product lines, are constantly challenged with issues including how to accurately forecast demand and how to minimize lead time from start of manufacture until a completed product is ready to be shipped. This is particularly true for manufacturers of products having numerous and/or complex subassemblies.
For example, manufacturers of heavy duty working vehicles, such as forklift trucks, must manufacture and assemble many complex components and component assemblies for each model of vehicle that is offered. Moreover, there is extensive labor and time involved in the manufacture of certain component parts of the vehicles, such as covers, doors, etc., due, at least in part, to the time required to obtain dies, set up jigs, and prepare tools and other necessary specialty items to work on these component parts. Thus, changeover for manufacturing different component parts or from the manufacture of component parts associated with a first product line to component parts associated with a second product line can take considerable time and resources.
Still further, in a manufacturing environment such as for heavy duty working vehicles, station operators may be required to interact with components and component part assemblies that are large, heavy and/or awkward to manipulate, which may hinder or otherwise limit the rate at which the station operators can perform assigned functions.